By Nora Wesson
Upper West Siders only have a few more days to wait for Lucia Pizza, as the popular brand puts the finishing touches on its new restaurant near Lincoln Center.
The pizzeria’s co-owner Dylan Schwartz described the incoming pizza shop to West Side Rag as “more than just a place to eat.”
Signage has been up for more than a month, heralding the arrival of the city’s fifth Lucia outpost at 159 Columbus Avenue between West 67th and 68th streets.
So, when will the new Upper West Side pizzeria open?
Monday, October 5, according to Schwartz, who also co-owns the popular Upper East Side outpost of Lucia.
“Even though there’s no seats, I still want it to be a place that people think of to come and have a slice and a little respite from their day,” Schwartz, 45, explained of the Upper West Side storefront’s smaller space, which does not allow for tables and chairs, though three standings bars will accommodate around 12 customers.
“A little escape from the daily grind,” he added.
While Lucia’s Upper West Side location might be on the smaller side, Lucia regulars will recognize its signature slices, crafted from slow-fermented dough, and finished with fresh basil, shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese, and olive oil imported from Sicily. The slices do not feel heavy or dense, reflective of the brand’s name, which means “light” in Italian.
Lucia might not be open yet on the Upper West Side, but Schwartz shared photos with WSR of the inside of the shop.
Glass display cases sit atop dark green counters, with space for customers to stand on grey terrazzo-tiled floors.
Metal shelves soon to be lined with pizza boxes hang above the register, and in front of an open preparation area, allowing visitors to see their orders being made, while a larger kitchen is also visible toward the back of the shop.
Pale yellow walls give way to narrow silver metal eating bars along two walls and the large window.
Outside, the restaurant’s burgundy awning is already up, just under the hand-painted sign reading “Lucia Pizza of the Upper West Side” in red and yellow paint against a cream-colored background, with dark green trim.
“It creates something unique, and I don’t want to say homey, but it separates us from your choices for lunch or dinner that are kind of more corporate,” Schwartz said.
The new slice shop’s storefront once belonged to a Starbucks. The co-owner also noted that the same artist designed and painted the signage for all of the brand’s shops.
“[Lucia’s is something truly born from the city, and also a throwback to another era [when] hand-painted signs were more prevalent,” he added. “We like to think that we try to maintain that same integrity that those businesses from yesteryear, that were around for 50-plus years or whatever, had.”
He and the team hope that Lucia will one day become one of those longstanding neighborhood fixtures. Outside the Upper West Side, pizza lovers can find the pizzeria in SoHo, Gramercy, Sheepshead Bay, and on the Upper East Side.
The new shop will open at 11 a.m. on Monday, with its full menu of slices available. Customers looking for delivery will have to call directly for the first week, but service through third-parties like Seamless and UberEats will begin after that. The restaurant does not deliver individual slices, only pies, though slices can be added on to pie orders.
“I think that [it’s] really important to have – what’s the word – a symbiotic relationship between the customer base and the store because then it becomes more than just a place to eat; it becomes a social hub too,” Schwartz said, detailing his goal of developing relationships with regulars, learning their names, and weaving Lucia Pizza into the fabric of the community.
“Even though the store will be crazy sometimes when it’s busy, I want [customers] to feel like they’re getting a little bit of a reprieve from whatever they got going on in life,” Schwartz explained. “To be able to indulge in some pizza, and a welcoming environment.”
Lucia Pizza will serve up slices Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., opening an hour later on Sundays.
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I wish them well, but c’mon… ““Even though there’s no seats, I still want it to be a place that people think of to come and have a slice and a little respite from their day,” Schwartz, 45, explained of the Upper West Side storefront’s smaller space, which does not allow for tables and chairs, though three standings bars will accommodate around 12 customers.”
No thanks, I’d like to sit down if I’m gonna have “a little respite from my day”…. 🙂
that is also why I won’t go back to Mama Too although they have good pizza.
Reprieve from the hectic life on the UWS is an oxymoron. I am still looking for it.
May the Schwartz be with him!
You used to be able to mobile order a coffee here. And walk across the street for pizza at Francesco’s. Where you could sit! Now with AI so much has changed, and I am not sure it is for the better.
just wondering: what does this have to do with AI??
If there’s room for “standing bars” there’s room for bar stools. Not as good as a proper seat but better than nothing. They obviously want people in and out quickly. They might as well just do delivery and pickup through a window without letting anyone inside to see all the fancy trappings.
Excellent point. The owner is offering the opposite of a “respite,” because he’s pushing customers in and out with all the hustle and bustle he claims to reject. You’re right — if there’s room for a standing bar, there’s room for tall stools.
Can I bring my folding chair that I bring to the park? I can’t stand that long on my tired feet which I use to stay one step ahead of Zhoran’s taxes
Who is Zhoran?
The NYC Mayor.
I was really looking forward to this but I simply have to be able to sit. I am sure I am not alone. I’m sad!
You are absolutely not alone.
Goodness, what a bunch of crabapples on here. I personally am so excited for this to open! It look beautiful inside and I am guessing that, much like Mama’s Too, outside seating will soon make an appearance.
There’s no outside seating at Mama’s Too. Before DoT tightened the rules on outside seating there was, but that’s been gone for a year or two.
My cane has a seat. I don’t leave home without it.
“The slices do not feel heavy or dense, reflective of the brand’s name, which means ‘light’ in Italian.”
Lucia in Italian is from “luce” — sunlight, lamplight — brightness. Light referring to weight is “leggero.” Not interchangeable.
Finallyyyy Open today!! Oct.5 Monday ;Got my slices of everything to taste !! all yummmy thin crust!! 🍕Thank you for coming in our neighborhood!! So glad I live same street by walking /barefoot👍
I was really looking forward to this Pizzeria opening, but now that I read there are no seats I am very disappointed. It’s becoming very difficult to sit down and relax for a while anywhere in New York City. No wonder people take their laptops to restaurants where they can get away with it and sit for hours at a time. You know what? The Library for the Performing Arts was a great place to sit, read, and maybe listen to music. But then after the pandemic, they didn’t reopen their snack cart. It’s spoiled the whole experience.
I won’t be going to, or ordering from, Lucia due to their no seats policy, because, indeed, it is a policy: As @Huh pointed out above, if there’s room for twelve people at a standing bar, there’s room for small bar stools. The owner just wants an in-and-out crowd though he claims the opposite. I guess he figures, why bother with seats when the money will come from deliveries.
some seats really would be nice